Rodent trap with diverter

ABSTRACT

A rodent trap comprising a platform having a flat upper surface; a spring loaded trapping member pivotally movable between cocked and actuated positions; a retaining arm pivotally mounted on the platform at one end thereof and adapted to hold the trapping member in a cocked configuration, the retaining arm having a free end; a diverter mounted on the platform and having a vertical wall portion formed with an open ended slot; the diverter having a bait anchor extending forwardly and substantially parallel to the free end of the retaining arm when the retaining arm overlies the trapping member, whereby bait inserted over the free end of the retaining arm and the one end portion of the bait anchor serves to hold the retaining arm in overlying relationship with the trapping member.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of copendingapplication Ser. No. 09/200,231, filed Nov. 25, 1998, still pending.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Conventional spring loaded traps tend to be overly sensitive tomovements during setting and placement of the traps, oftentimesresulting in accidental and premature actuation. This is due primarilyto the manner in which the retaining bar is engaged with the baitplatform by a detent at the end of the bar. Specifically, the detent isdesigned to "catch" on a projection in the bait platform, after the baithas been placed on the platform. This arrangement has proven to beeffective but highly sensitive to subsequent handling of the trap, e.g.,placing in the desired location in the cocked position.

This invention seeks to reduce the above mentioned sensitivity while, atthe same time, maintain a high degree of efficiency and reliability. Tothis end, a unique bait anchor is employed which cooperates with thefree end of the retaining bar. Specifically, these two components serveto hold the bait, but do not engage each other. It is the bait itselfwhich "straddles" the retaining bar and bait anchor, and which holds theretaining bar in its position overlying the cocked, spring-loadedtrapping member. In order to insure that the retention bar will be heldin place, the bait must have sufficient consistency. As the rodent chewson the bait, the retention bar is freed, thereby causing the trappingmember to close under the influence of a conventional coil spring.

In a second and preferred embodiment of the invention, the bait anchoris formed as part of a diverter or shield element which guides therodent around the trap in order to have access to the bait. Thus, therodent must approach the bait from the front of the trap, thereby makingthe trap more reliable and effective.

It will be appreciated that the trap construction in accordance withthis invention is less complex than conventional traps and therefore,reduces the cost of manufacture. In addition, the trap constructionfacilitates the application of the bait to the trap, the setting of thetrap in the desired location and the trap can accommodate various kindsof bait, both soft and hard.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a rodent trap comprising aplatform having a flat upper surface; a spring loaded trapping memberpivotally movable between cocked and actuated positions; a retaining armpivotally mounted on the platform at one end thereof and adapted to holdthe trapping member in a cocked configuration, the retaining arm havinga free end; a diverter mounted on the platform and having a verticalwall portion formed with an open ended slot adapted to receive the freeend of the retaining arm; the diverter having a bait anchor extendingforwardly and substantially parallel to the free end of the retainingarm when the retaining arm overlies the trapping member, whereby baitinserted over the free end of the retaining arm and the bait anchorserves to hold the retaining arm in overlying relationship with thetrapping member.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a trap in accordance with a firstembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the trap shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevation showing an alternative construction;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of a trap in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the trap shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a diverter or shield component used inthe trap construction shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the trap 10 in accordance with oneexemplary embodiment of this invention is a mousetrap which includes astandard base or platform 12 (wood or other suitable material) having aflat upper surface 14. The generally rectangular trapping member or bail16 is fixed to the upper surface 14 of the platform 12 via brads 18, 20.A coil spring 22 overlies the forward leg 24 of the trapping member and,by means of spring extension arm 26, biases the trapping member in aclockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the forward leg 24serving as a pivot or axle. The trap construction as defined above isconventional.

A retaining arm 28 is loosely pivotally mounted on the platform uppersurface 14 by another U-shaped brad 30 which is driven into theplatform. The arm 20 is adapted to extend over the trapping bar 16,beyond the end 24, as shown in the Figures. The free end 32 of arm 28cooperates with a bait anchor 34 which includes a vertical portion 36and a 90° angle portion 38 which extends horizontally away from thespring 22. Anchor 34 may be rigid wire or other suitable material. Withthe trapping member 16 cocked as shown in FIG. 1, the free end 32 of theretaining arm 28 is located above and substantially parallel to the baitanchor portion 38 as best seen in FIG. 1, i.e., in both horizontal andvertical alignment.

Bait 40 can then be inserted over the elements 32 and 38, with the baititself holding the retaining arm 28 over the trapping bar to maintainthe latter in the cocked position. In this regard, the bait 40 must havesufficient consistency to hold the free end 32 in place, to preventpremature actuation. I have discovered that gum drops, raisins and manyother common household food particles for example, provide the requiredholding power and serve well as bait. This eliminates the need forspecially manufactured bait.

Referring to FIG. 3, the free end 132 of the retaining arm and thehorizontal end portion 138 of the bait anchor may be sharpened with,e.g., 45° tapers or bevels, in order to facilitate the placement ofharder bait such as peanuts or certain seeds preferred by mice.

With the bait in place, the trap is easily placed in the desiredlocation, and the retaining arm and bait anchoring configuration asdescribed above are less sensitive to slight movements, so that the userneed not be as concerned with accidental actuation during placement ofthe trap. When the mouse begins to feed on the bait, the arm 28 will befreed and the trapping member 16 will spring to the closed or trappingposition.

With reference now to FIGS. 4-6, a trap in accordance with a second andpreferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated. The trap 42includes a standard base or platform 44 having a flat upper surface 46with a generally rectangular trapping member or bail 48 fixed to theupper surface 46 in a conventional manner (similar to the embodimentillustrated in FIGS. 1-3), utilizing brads 50, 52 and a coil spring 54which extend over the forward leg 56 of the bail 48. Extension arm 58 ofthe spring 54 biases the trapping member in a counterclockwisedirection, as viewed in FIG. 4, with the forward leg 56 serving as apivot or axle.

A retaining arm 60 is loosely pivotally mounted on the upper surface 46of the base or platform 44 by means of a brad 62, again in conventionalfashion. The retaining arm 60 is adapted to extend over the trapping baror bail 48 beyond the forward leg 56. In this embodiment, a diverter orshield component 64 replaces the bait anchor 34 utilized in theembodiment shown in FIGS. 1-3. The diverter or shield 64 is generallyL-shaped, with a horizontal base or mounting portion 66 and a verticaldiverter portion 68. The base 66 may be secured to the upper surface 64of the platform 44 by any suitable means, including staples, brads,adhesive or the like. A slot 70 is formed in the center portion of thevertical portion 68, with a horizontal tab 72 extending forwardly at thebase of the slot 70. The tab 72 thus serves as a bait anchor, much inthe same way as bait anchor 34, while the slot 70 guides the free end ofthe retaining arm 60 into position adjacent the tab 72. The diverter orshield 64 is preferably a unitary member formed of a suitable plasticmaterial.

With reference to FIG. 4, it may be seen that the retaining bar 60 isrotated over the bail 48 with the forward end of the retaining bar moveddownwardly through the slot 70 into substantially parallel matingengagement with the bait anchor 72. The bait 74 can then be insertedover the anchor 72 and forward end of retaining bar 60, with the baithaving sufficient consistency to hold the retaining bar 60 in place andthus prevent premature actuation. With this arrangement, in order toreach the bait 74, the rodent must approach the bait from the front ofthe trap, i.e., from within the trapping zone, thereby eliminating thepossibility of the rodent straddling the retaining bar 60 whileapproaching the bait from behind and simply being thrown away from thetap upon actuation.

While the trap construction as described above relates primarily tomousetraps it will be appreciated that the unique construction isequally applicable to other and larger rodent traps, for example, rattraps.

While the invention has been described in connection with what ispresently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment,it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedisclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover variousmodifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A rodent trap comprising:a platform having a flatupper surface; a spring loaded trapping member pivotally movable betweencocked and actuated positions; a retaining arm pivotally mounted on saidplatform at one end thereof and adapted to hold the trapping member in acocked configuration, said retaining arm having a free end; a stationarydiverter fixed to said platform and having a vertical wall portionformed with a vertically oriented open ended slot adapted to receivesaid free end of said retaining arm; said diverter having a horizontaltab serving as a bait anchor extending forwardly from said base of saidslot and substantially parallel to said free end of said retaining armwhen said retaining arm overlies said trapping member and when saidretaining arm is received in said slot, said retaining arm overlies saidhorizontal tab, whereby bait inserted over said free end of saidretaining arm and said bait anchor serves to hold said retaining arm inoverlying relationship with said trapping member.
 2. The rodent trap ofclaim 1 wherein said diverter includes a horizontal portion by which thediverter is fixed to said upper surface of said platform.
 3. The rodenttrap of claim 1 including bait having a consistency sufficient to holdsaid retaining arm in overlying relationship with said trapping member.4. The rodent trap of claim 1 wherein said free end of said retainingarm and said horizontal tab are in substantial vertical alignment whenthe trapping member is in the cocked position.
 5. The rodent trap ofclaim 1 wherein said diverter is made of plastic.
 6. The rodent trap ofclaim 1 wherein said vertical portion extends in a plane transverse tosaid retaining arm.